Blue Fire (Evil Bluestar AU)
by shrineofjonesy
Summary: Loss has forever plagued Bluefang's life, each death hitting harder than the last. They turned her rough, and angry; unfriendly and violent with nothing left but an ambition for power and leadership. Under her harsh rule, ThunderClan has become disconnected from the other clans. However, Spottedleaf has received a prophecy, foretelling a fire that will save ThunderClan..
1. Changes

**Some changes have been made to the WC canon for this story. Here are some bigger ones, with explanation - more to come, most likely, as the story develops. A lot of changes in the story may not be mentioned here, as things may go accidentally undocumented. Feel free to ask if you have any questions about a change here or a change not listed.**

**Change: **Spottedleaf's Heart isn't canon. Instead, Spottedleaf has been highly interested in the medicine cat role since kithood; she becomes Featherwhisker's apprentice, despite Goosefeather still being a med cat, and learns quite a bit from both cats.

**Reason: **I don't consider it canon in the first place, and it's extremely OOC for both Thistleclaw and Spottedleaf.

**Change: **Scourge doesn't exist; instead, he has become Coldfrost, a warrior of ThunderClan.

**Reason: **With the changes to Bluestar and Thistleclaw's personalities, the incident with Tiny and Tigerpaw would have never happened; instead, he's invited to join the clan.

**Change: **Swiftkit (Swiftpaw) and his brother, Lynxkit, are no longer Goldenflower's kits. They're a loner's kits, found abandoned on the territory, and foster children to Dappletail. Other changes similar to this have been made.

**Reason: **To introduce new blood into ThunderClan and prevent some of the incest later down the line; plus, Goldenflower getting together with both Patchpelt and Tigerclaw never really made much sense to me.. As for the others - same reason. There's more 'lost loners' kits' in ThunderClan, now, just to try to curb the incest a little more right now.. I mean, have you seen modern ThunderClan's family tree?

**Change: **Cinderpelt is now sister to Greystripe, and daughter of Willowpelt.

**Reason: **.. I can excuse a lot of the genetics in Warriors, but Cinderpelt, a grey cat, being born to Frostfur, a white cat, and Lionheart, a golden tabby, just doesn't make any sense.

**Change: **Ravenpaw, now Ravenheart, has been aged up to be the same age as Frostfur. Dustpelt was born in a later litter.

**Reason: **There are _way_ too many apprentices in ThunderClan at the moment, and not enough warriors.

**Change: **Brokenstar/tail is now female.

**Reason:** .. Why not?


	2. Allegiances

**THUNDERCLAN**

**LEADER**

_Bluestar _— muscled blue she-cat with thin fur, and pointed tabby markings; her muzzle is tinged with grey and her eyes are a deep blue; her leader mark has faded completely.

**DEPUTY**

_Whitefur (Whitestorm) _— white tom with grey pointed tabby markings, and amber eyes.

**MEDICINE CAT**

_Spottedleaf _— Pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a white underbelly and paws; her pelt is dappled with white and one of her pale yellow eyes is scarred with claw marks.

**WARRIORS**

_Thistleclaw_ — Large, long-furred, heavily scarred smokey grey and white tom. One of his ears is missing.

_Tigerblaze (Tigerclaw)_ — Large, thick-furred dark brown tabby tom, with warm amber eyes.

_Coldfrost (Scourge/Tiny)_ — small black tom with icy blue eyes, and a one white front paw.

_Redtail_ — tortoiseshell tom with a white underbelly and fluffy red tail.

_Runningwind _— tall, thin pale brown tabby tom.

_Mousefur _— plain, ruddy brown she-cat.

_Tansytail (Longtail) _— light grey-brown tom with black tabby stripes, and blue eyes.

_Lionheart _— big, fluffy golden tabby tom.

_Darkstripe_ — dark grey tabby tom, with a darker stripe running down his spine to his tail.

_Rosetail_ — Dilute torbie (tortoiseshell tabby) she-cat with a rosy-orange tail.

_Goldenflower_ — big, golden lynx-point she-cat.

_Willowpelt _— pale grey she-cat with paler blue eyes.

_Ravenheart (Ravenpaw)_ — black tom with a dash of white on his chest and tail tip; one of his eyes is green, the other yellow.

**QUEENS**

_Frostfur_ — white she-cat with black and ginger spots; she has icy blue eyes. Mother to Lionheart's kits, Brackenkit (dark ginger-brown tabby tom), Brightkit (white she-cat with ginger tabby patches), and Thornkit (golden brown tabby tom).

_Speckletail _— pale golden tabby she-cat; nursery caretaker.

_Dappletail_ — old, but beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat. Foster mother to Swiftkit (black and white tom) and Lynxkit (grey tom with tabby spots and a paler underbelly).

**APPRENTICES**

_Sandpaw_ — fawn she-cat with barely visible tabby stripes.

_Dustpaw_ — brown tabby tom.

_Cinderpaw_ — grey she-cat with blue eyes, and a missing hind leg.

_Greypaw _— grey tom with yellow eyes, and a darker grey stripe running down his spine.

**ELDERS**

_Smallear_ — grey tom with small, folded ears.

_Sparrowpelt_ — dark brown tom.

_One-eye _— pale grey she-cat with one scarred blind eye.

_Patchpelt_ — old, greying black and white tom.

**RIVERCLAN**

**LEADER**

_Stormstar (Crookedstar)_ — pale brown tabby tom, with a twisted, broken jaw.

**DEPUTY**

_Oakheart_ — reddish-brown tom.

**WINDCLAN**

**LEADER**

_Tallstar _— thin, wiry white and black tom with big ears.

**DEPUTY**

_Hopfoot (Deadfoot)_ — black tom with a twisted front foot.

**SHADOWCLAN**

**LEADER**

_Raggedstar_ — large brown tabby tom with a thin pelt; he's missing patches of his fur.

**DEPUTY**

_Brokentail_ — big, handsome black she-cat with tabby stripes clearly visible in the sun; her tail has been broken in the middle, giving it a kinked look.


	3. Prologue

Three silhouettes sat under the pale moonlight, each of their heads turned from each other. A thin black and white tom looked below to the crowd of cats murmuring beneath him. A second tom, bigger than the others, with brown, patchy fur looked absentmindedly into the trees. And the last cat, a pale brown tabby with a twisted jaw looked to the sky, his eyes filled with worry.

"She's not coming." The patchy-furred tom grumbled, "ThunderClan hasn't been to a Gathering for moons, now. Why would they show up now?"

"We should always hope for their return, Raggedstar." The tom with the twisted jaw murmured. "Much could happen within a moon."

"Hope?" Raggedstar snorted, "Bluestar has given up on the other Clans. _If_ she's still even leader. You'd better get that through your thick skull, Stormstar." The dark tabby tom shook his head, "ThunderClan has been attacking our borders, and if what I've heard is right, they've been attacking yours, too."

A snarl came from below; a reddish brown tabby tom glared up from the bottom of the rock the leaders were perched on. "Watch your tongue, Raggedstar. What goes on on the RiverClan borders is none of your concern." It was Oakheart, the RiverClan deputy.

"We will commence this meeting, _without_ ThunderClan's representatives!" Raggedstar announced, with a loud yowl. "They have yet to come to a gathering for many moons; it's about time we stop waiting for them!"

"There's a reason we gather under _Four_trees." The last leader, who had remained quiet, pointed out. His voice was calm, and clear. "We should always have four Clans in the forest."

"I will _not_ sit idly by and wait for a leader that doesn't respect us, or _StarClan_ enough to even show up!" Raggedstar spat.

The sky cracked alive with lightning, a loud, booming thunder following. The warriors below the leader's rock had started to stand, looking restless, and uneasy. Some cats were even beginning to look at those from other clans with caution and malice.

"It seems StarClan has made their decision." Raggedstar muttered, bringing a paw to his muzzle to wipe off a raindrop that had landed on his fur. "And I have made mine. This gathering is over!" He leapt from the rock, taking the lead in front of his clanmates. "I will be defending my borders from ThunderClan harsher than ever before." He announced, "If they have given up on StarClan, they're no better than rogues. I suggest you two treat them as such."

And with that, Raggedstar stalked off into the night, his clan following close behind him. Their medicine cat, Yellowfang, lagged behind for a moment, speaking to her peers in a hushed tone, but within seconds had already gone to catch up with her clanmates.

Murmurs of WindClan and RiverClan cats filled the night, and there was a distinct scent of fear in the air. Cats were tense. ThunderClan couldn't be gone forever, could it?

The black-and-white leader of WindClan, Tallstar, sighed. He shook the rain, which was now coming down like hail, from his pelt and leapt from the leader's rock. "WindClan shall be leaving as well. It's no use to hold a gathering if two clans are missing."

Stormstar bowed his head in a nod, his eyes falling shut. His heart grew heavy with the thought of what had become of ThunderClan - for all they knew, Bluestar might not even be the leader anymore. She had only been to the gatherings a few times after ascending to leadership, and even then the dark, fang-shaped marks on her jaw had been faint. She had gotten her leader mark, but it was fading - something that only happened when leaders lost their faith in StarClan.

Stormstar's eyes opened once again as he smelled his brother's scent; Oakheart had leapt onto the rock, and was speaking in a hushed tone. "You're worrying your clan." He murmured, "There's no use in staying here any longer. Let's go."

Stormstar blinked slowly, then nodded. He climbed down the tall rock and walked to the front of his clan, Oakheart taking a place by his side. He only glanced back towards Fourtrees once as he walked, his head hung low, and his eyes filled with grief.


	4. Chapter 1

Thrushpelt was dead.

His body was laid out in a grassy patch of the camp's clearing, only a few cats gathered around him, mourning for their fallen clanmate. The smell of mint and rosemary wafted around him, doing its best to hide the stench of death, but even then, the faint, metallic scent of blood remained.

Or, maybe that was coming from the medicine den. Spottedleaf had had her paws full with injured cats, and her den, usually empty, served as a nest for a whole host of warriors tonight. The medicine cat herself had suffered an injury, after an enemy warrior had slashed her through the eye. Luckily, she still had her sight, but the cuts would take time to heal, and would leave her scarred for the rest of her life.

A battle with RiverClan had left ThunderClan in this state. There had been too many warriors dedicated to a losing battle, and even apprentices too young to properly fight had been put on the line. None were injured too badly, but a few of them were scared out of their wits. Spottedleaf shouldn't have been with the battle patrol, either; but Bluestar had urged her to go along, so that she could treat injured warriors right away, and lessen the possibility of life-threatening injuries. All it had left her with was the fright of her life.

Thistleclaw had been one of the cats lucky enough to have gotten away without too many scratches. Maybe it was his large stature, or knowledge of his his skill in battle; but not many warriors had tried to engage him in combat. He laid by the fresh kill pile, in a relatively dry spot protected from the rain by the thick overgrowth. A mouse still Leaf-bare thin laid in front of his paws, but he couldn't bring himself to eat it, too sickened from the day's earlier events.

The tom's ear pricked as the ferns in front of the medicine den began to rustle. Spottedleaf emerged from her den, looking rather exhausted, and started making her way towards the fresh-kill pile. She nodded a greetings towards Thistleclaw.

"What are you doing out so late?" She meowed, somewhat quietly, as to not wake any of their sleeping clanmates.

"I couldn't sleep." Thistleclaw mumbled, "Thought some fresh air and a meal might help, but.." He looked down apprehensively at the mouse, and slowly shook his head. He clasped the mouse's tail between his teeth as he stood up, and went to put the prey back on the fresh-kill pile.

"Would you like some poppy seeds to help you rest?"

"I'm fine."

Spottedleaf glanced towards the warrior with pity, before she bent her head down picked up one of the remaining pieces of prey. "May I.. eat here, with you?" She mumbled through a jaw full of robin. Thistleclaw nodded in response.

"I don't want to disturb any of the sleeping cats." She murmured, laying down in the damp grass and setting her bird down. "And.. the _smell_.."

"You don't need an excuse to want to get away from your duties."

"I know." Spottedleaf sighed, bending her head down to eat some of her prey. "I love being a medicine cat, you know," She blinked slowly, shaking her head ever so softly. "But I don't like seeing all this.. Unnecessary _pain_.. Herbs can only do so much for a cat's wounds.." She trailed off, eyes were cloudy with pain, and guilt.

Thistleclaw winced as he watched the medicine cat's face. She clearly was plagued by the memory of the last Leaf-bare, that had lasted far too long and taken too many lives. He slowly sat back up on his haunches, and opened his jaws to say some words of consolation to the she-cat - but she had suddenly.. Changed.

Spottedleaf's gaze had averted to the sky, and she had sat up. Her eyes had glazed over, changing from pale yellow, to reflecting nothing but the black and the stars of the night sky. The faint rise and fall of her chest had stopped as well.

Thistleclaw jumped to his paws, "Spottedleaf?" He questioned, in a hushed tone. "Spottedleaf, are you alright?" He had heard of medicine cats experiencing things like this - fits of shaking, sometimes - but Spottedleaf had become frozen in her place, not even _breathing_. It was supposed to be.. _Normal_, but he was absolutely horrified.

Almost as quickly as it had happened, she snapped out of it. The air came back into her lungs in the form of a desperate gasp, and her eyelids flew shut. She collapsed to the ground, panting heavily as she tried to get her bearings. Thistleclaw bent his head towards her, "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned, "Do you need something from your den? Herbs? Water?"

"I'm fine." Spottedleaf croaked, cracking one eye open. "Thank you. I'm fine." With some effort, she pushed herself back up onto her haunches, slouching towards the ground. "StarClan has given me a prophecy." She rasped between breaths.

Thistleclaw blinked, "A prophecy." He echoed. "That means StarClan is.. They're.."

"I knew our ancestors hadn't left us." She sat up a little straighter and looked towards Thistleclaw with an excited gleam in her eye. "Fire alone can save our clan."

"Fire?" The old grey warrior screwed up his face, "What is _that_ supposed to mean? How can _fire_ help us?"

"I don't know." Spottedleaf admitted. "But this is what StarClan has chosen to share with me. It's not my place to question their will - but I'll do my best to figure out what it means."

Thistleclaw stared at her for a moment, blinking, with a puzzled look in his eyes. "StarClan," He huffed, swiping his claw through the dirt. "They speak in riddles- Like RiverClan cats, don't they? Impossible to understand clearly.."

"And that's why it's up to me to interpret their word." Spottedleaf stood up and bent her head down to pick up her half eaten mouse. "StarClan hasn't spoken to me in some time. As exciting as this.. I need to go about this carefully. You'll be on the lookout too, won't you?"

"If I see fire, I'm going to turn tail and run. Not ask it how it'll save ThunderClan."

"_Mouse-brain_." Spottedleaf huffed, "You know what I mean." He readjusted her jaws around the mouse, and started back towards her den. She only turned around once to wish Thistleclaw a good night, before disappearing into the medicine den.


	5. Chapter 2

Fire.

Everything was _burning_.

Bright orange flames engulfed the trees and licked at Rusty's paws. He coughed and gasped for air, smoke filling his lungs. He could hardly see through the thick ash and orange glow, but managed to spot an exit to the moor just through a patch of burning trees. Mustering up all the strength he could manage, he pushed himself forward and sprang towards freedom.

To one side, he sped past cats choking, gasping for air; collapsing when nothing could enter their lungs. To the other, a tom ran alongside him in big, powerful leaps, a determined look in his amber eyes.

Rusty skidded to a halt in front of an enormous rock, just in front of the entrance to the unburnt moor. He was in a clearing, surrounded by trees larger than any others he had ever seen. Perched in their low branches and slinking by the roots of those trees were the pale white outlines of other cats. They each varied in shape and size, but every one had the same identical see-through white pelt, with twinkling stars in their fur. Wide, unblinking, eyes stared down at Rusty.

The fire roared once more, and Rusty, petrified with fear, stepped backward, his emerald green eyes wide. _I have to find another way out! _He thought frantically, searching for another way through the trees. He choked on another gasp of air, but shook his head and pushed through it, and turned to run away.

The hot, thick air turned cold as a shadow fell over Rusty's fleeing figure. Blood was rushing in his ears, and his heart was pounding so hard he could hardly hear a thing.

"_You!_" A loud screech pierced the air, "_You will pay for what you've done! Turn around and face me!"_

Rusty froze. _P-Pay?_ He thought. _I didn't- I-I didn't start this fire, did I?_ He slowly turned, wide eyed, to face the cat had yelled at him.

They didn't hesitate.

The cat leapt towards Rusty, with outstretched claws and fury in their eyes. The tom stood frozen, cowering with his tail between his legs. He shut his eyes tight as the cat's claws were about to tear through his flesh - but he found no such end.

Instead, he was home.

There was no pain, no claws ripping through his fur. But one of his housefolk was scratching him behind the ear And he wasn't surrounded by hot fire, but was instead confined within the walls of his kitchen.

It was just a dream.

A very _real_, _intense_ dream. Even though he was safe, he could still feel the smoke in his lungs, the embers burning his paws, and fire singing his fur. Rusty squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the starry cats with emotionless faces, and deep, black eyes that bore deep into his heart.

He opened them again at the sound of dry pellets being shaken into his food bowl. Rusty slinked out of his soft bed once his housefolk had walked away, and stuck his nose into the bowl, inhaling their dry, stale scent. Whatever it was, it wasn't.. _Bad_. But something within him knew that it wasn't _right_ to be eating these pellets. He had never even laid a whisker upon a mouse, but it seemed like a better meal than what his housefolk served him.

Rusty pricked his ears, hearing the faint _pitter-patter _of rain outside. Maybe the fresh air would do him some good. Abandoning his meal, he slid out the glass door, which had been left open a crack; just barely enough for him to squeeze through.

It was the early morning, by the feel of it. Pale grey clouds covered the sky in a thick blanket, and a familiar damp chill was in the air. It wasn't Rusty's favorite weather, but it was better than the snow.

"Rusty!" A voice chirped from above.

Looking up, Rusty spotted Smudge, a chubby black-and-white kitten, balancing rather ungracefully on the fence. The sight of his friend made him purr, and he leapt onto the fence to sit beside him.

"Good morning, Smudge." Rusty greeted.

"Morning!" Smudge pressed his cheek against Rusty's in greeting, but the orange tom barely responded. Concern filled Smudge's wide amber eyes. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Rusty looked away from Smudge, dipping his head. "Just a bad dream. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?!" Smudge scoffed, resting his tail across Rusty's back. "Of course I'm going to worry about it! What happened? You can tell me!"

"Really, it's okay, Smudge." Rusty glanced at his friend, giving him a reassuring nod. He turned his gaze to the forest, letting out a sigh.

It was oddly calming, the forest. As he took a breath, the crisp scent cleared the acrid stench of smoke from his lungs. There was something there, tugging at his heart. The same urge that made prick his ears when a bird chirped, or when he heard a mouse rustling in the bushes. He had a feeling that that was where he really belonged; running after prey through the undergrowth, morning dew coating his pelt.

Smudge glanced at Rusty, then to the forest, then back at Rusty. "You're not thinking of going in there, are you?"

"Haven't you ever wondered?"

"Maybe. But I never actually thought about going in there!" Smudge scratched his claws against the fence, nervous. "I hear there are wild cats in there. They're much bigger than us, and they kill and eat other cats- Then wear their bones as trophies!"

Rusty couldn't hold in his _mrrow_ of laughter. "That can't be true. Where did you hear that?"

Smudge licked his chest to hide his clear lack of evidence. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" He huffed, turning and hopping off the fence, back into his own garden.

Rusty watched Smudge pad back into his home, still shaking his head. "Yeah, right." He muttered to himself. Wild forest cats that ate each other and wore bones. It sounded like the stuff of kittens' nightmares. That sort of stuff didn't scare him anymore.

The tom was about to retreat back into his housefolks' nest when he heard rustling and squeaking coming from the woods. Rusty's heart almost skipped a beat. _A mouse_. He thought to himself, tipping his head up to get a better look at the bushes. He had never tasted mouse before, and warmth spread across his tongue when he tried to imagine. This was his chance to get a taste of the wild.

Trying to be as quiet as he could - which wasn't very quiet at all - Rusty leapt from the fence, landing in the damn grass with a soft _thud_, then pricked his ears to listen for more signs of mouse. He did his best to block out all other noises, save for the tiny scratches of the mouse looking for something to eat.

But one wrong step ruined his hunt. As Rusty pressed his paw onto the ground, a dry twig snapped under his weight. The leaves rustled as the mouse sped away - but Rusty wasn't going to let it escape that easily. Mustering up all the strength he could, he sped after the rodent.

Rusty could hear nothing but his heartbeat and his paws pounding against the dirt. The wind flowed through his fur like water, and the smells of the forest filled his head. Everything felt right. And soon it would be even better, he'd have the sweet taste of mouse on his tongue-

The mouse skittered underneath a bramble bush, and before Rusty could react, he _slammed_ into the bush, getting tangled in the thorny branches.

"Damnit!" He hissed, wrangling his body free from the bramble. Pain pricked all over his body where the thorns had scraped him. Aand.. the mouse was gone. Rusty gulped, momentarily shutting his eyes to try to recapture the feeling he'd had only moments before. _Some hunter I am.._ Falling back on his haunches and opening his eyes again, Rusty brought his paw up, tugging a large thorn from his paw with his teeth.

".. Did you hear that?"

"Do I hear it? Do you _smell_ it?"

Rusty froze. He had been too preoccupied chasing the mouse that he hadn't realized there was someone _else_ nearby. The ginger tom dropped low to the ground, pricking his ears to listen further.

".. Smells like a kittypet.." One of the voices, deep and rough with age, grumbled.

"You'd think they wouldn't come around here anymore. C'mon." The other voice was a bit softer, clearly a different cat.

_Kittypet_. Rusty thought. "What's a-"

A huge figure leapt over the bramble bush, their paws slamming into the ground with a loud thud as they landed. Rusty sprang to his feet, staring at the strangers with wide eyes as he took a few steps back. Another cat leapt over the bush as well, landing beside their companion.

Both cats - toms - were _huge_, larger than any cat Rusty had ever seen before, with muscular bodies and thick fur. From where he was cowering, he could see their sharp teeth and meaty breath. _A-Are these the wild cats Smudge was talking about?!_

"You!" The clearly younger of the two, a deep brown tabby, boomed. "What are you doing on our territory, _trespasser?_"


End file.
